Chapter 24: The Unapproachable Mr. Darcy

Elizabeth came back down the stairs with her camera in hand. "Well I'm off to do Mr. Darcy's photos, I promise not to be too long," she said. "Unless of course, Mr. Darcy proves to be a difficult subject to photograph."

Charlotte laughed, "I hardly think that possible Lizzy. He's very handsome, all he has to do is smile."

"Yes that's true," she told her. "But then he does not smile very often."

Charlotte looked over at her friend. "He does when he is around you, Lizzy."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Charlotte, you're imagining things. Mr. Darcy does not like me very much, in fact, I'm surprised he agreed to let me do these pictures for him."

Charlotte sighed. "Seriously Lizzy? How is it possible for you to miss something so completely obvious? You who love to watch people, who look for all the details. How can you not see it?"

"Charlotte, I promise you that what you think you see happening with Mr. Darcy, isn't," she told her. "I have spent a good deal of time with the man and believe me he's not interested in me in that way."

"If that were true, then how do you explain his willingness to show you around the gardens this morning?" she commented. "He didn't have to do that."

"He was just being nice," she assured her. "Charlotte, he knows that Georgiana and I have become very good friends. He's being kind for her sake. I'm sure of it. Mr. Darcy doesn't have feelings for me."

Charlotte knew it was pointless to argue with her friend. "We will see," she told her leaving the topic for the time being.

Elizabeth grabbed her bag and headed for the door. "I will be back soon." As she walked up the drive toward the house she thought about what her friend said and laughed, "Mr. Darcy having feelings for me is ridiculous," she mumbled to herself.

It didn't take her long to get to the main house; she hoped she wouldn't have to endure any time in Lady Catherine's company. It had been a rather pleasant day so far, and she hoped it would stay that way. Once she reached the door, she felt her heart race a bit. She felt both nervous and excited to spend more time with him although she really wasn't sure why.

"Miss Bennet, if you will follow me into the library." Lady Catherine's butler told her as he opened the door. "Mr. Darcy asked if you could wait in there. He's running a little late this afternoon."

Elizabeth followed him inside. "Thank you, Harris," she said as he showed her to the library. Normally she wouldn't mind being left alone in such a room, filled with so many wonderful old books. But at that moment, her nerves were getting the better of her. She just wanted to get started. She thought about how well their morning spent together went. "He was very helpful in showing me around," she told herself. She thought about what Charlotte said. "He was charming, but it would be foolish of me to think anything of it." She took in another deep breath to calm her nerves. "Besides Lizzy, you don't even like Mr. Darcy," she reminded herself. She glanced down at her watch when the door opened, and Darcy stepped inside followed by Richard.

"Elizabeth, help me out, won't you," Richard said as he pointed to Darcy. "Please explain to my cousin why this won't work."

Elizabeth smiled, while Darcy did look amazing in his suit it would not work for what they wanted to accomplish. She bit the bottom of her lip and thought of what to say next. She didn't like being put on the spot, but she knew she had to say something. "Mr. Darcy, you do look impeccably dressed…" she began to say.

"You see Richard even she agrees with my choice," Darcy told his cousin.

Richard laughed, "Hold on cousin, I don't think she was done talking," he said. "Elizabeth, please do continue," he encouraged her.

She hesitated for only a moment then summoned the courage to say. "You look impeccable dressed, for one of the world's wealthiest businessmen. But not so much for someone who is attempting to look more like an average guy."

Darcy looked down at his suit and shook his head in confusion, "I'm afraid I don't understand."

Richard began laughing, "Of course you don't, Darcy. What she's trying to say, is these pictures are supposed to make you look more approachable. Right now, you look more like a stuffy, Monday morning suit who only has money on his mind."

"I hardly think that this suit makes me appear unapproachable," Darcy told them feeling a bit defensive. "It's one of the nicest suits I own.

Elizabeth could see he didn't like being put on the spot either. "As I said it's a very nice suit and for any other occasion, say a business meeting or a formal dinner, it would be entirely appropriate. But if the goal is to soften your image and make you appear more like the people who are going to be working for you, then you might want to reconsider what you wear."

"Elizabeth, I think he needs some help," Richard told her as he turned towards the door. "Perhaps you could come up and help choose something that would look more relaxed and casual."

Before she could respond Darcy protested, "Richard, I think I can handle choosing my own clothes for this," he told him as he followed his cousin back up toward his room.

"Apparently not or you wouldn't have picked that Armani suit," Richard shot back. "Darcy, we want you to look like just another guy. We want you to look relaxed and approachable," he said again, as he walked into Darcy room and opened his closet. "Please Elizabeth, pick out something for him to wear that would be less corporate raider and more, friendly boss," he told her. "How about we shoot for casual Friday kind of thing."

Elizabeth kept quiet as she followed the two up the stairs and into Darcy room. She took one look at the annoyed expression on his face and hesitated. "I'm sure that you can find something now that you know what it is Richard is looking for this photo shoot. I will just go wait downstairs. You can come down whenever you are ready."

Darcy was annoyed with his cousin, but not with her. He didn't want to take out his frustration with Richard on her. He looked over at her and smiled, "No please, it's all right," he told her. "Maybe I could use some help with this after all."

"If you are sure?" she said to him.

He nodded his head, "I'm sure," he told her.

Elizabeth took in a deep breath and smiled, "All right, if you are sure you don't mind," she said as she entered his closet and began looking through his things. She couldn't help but feel awkward about choosing his clothes. She wasn't sure why she did, after all, she had helped other clients with their wardrobe before. After a few moments, she turned back towards Darcy and asked, "Do you have a pair of jeans?"

Darcy shook his head, "No, I don't usually wear jeans," he admitted.

Richard laughed, "Don't worry Darcy, you and I are about the same size I will go and get you a pair of mine," he told him then asked Elizabeth. "Dark rinse or light?"

She looked through his closet of shirts and smiled, "A dark wash would be better if you have them," she told him as she reached over and grabbed a light blue button up shirt and a dark gray cardigan sweater. She handed both to Darcy. "This shirt will work, leave the top button undone and leave the cardigan unbuttoned completely," she told him as she stepped over door just as Richard came back with the jeans. "Also, change into the most casual shoes that you have," she said before heading downstairs and letting him get changed.

Moments later he came back down for her inspection. "Is this better?" he asked her.

She had to admit he looked very nice in jeans. She smiled, "Yes that will do very nicely," she told him as they stepped outside. "Richard and I were talking. We thought that the best place for the pictures might be near the trees. The gardens are to perfectly manicured and stuffy for what we're going for. Is that all right with you?"

"I'm placing myself entirely in your hands," he told her.

She laughed "Oh you shouldn't ever say that to a photographer, we can be a crazy bunch," she teased him. "You might find yourself swinging from a tree."

"Well, perhaps that's what it will take, to make me 'more approachable,' he said, as he laughed.

Elizabeth laughed in return. "I think your cousin would pay money to see you in a tree," she teased him.

"Yes, Richard probably would," he agreed.

They walked together down to the end of the drive and across the lawns until they reached the edge of the property. Elizabeth looked around to choose just the right place. She wanted to make sure she wasn't getting too much sun. She pointed to a lovely little bench that sat beneath some of the taller trees near one of the walking trails. "Let's have you sit down here and see how that works."

"All right, but I must warn you that I don't take very good pictures," Darcy told her.

Elizabeth laughed, "No worries, since I will be the one taking the pictures we should be fine," she teased him.

Darcy smiled, he realized his mistake in his wording. "What I meant to say is pictures that are taken of me don't usually turn out," he corrected himself. "I hope I will not end up being too difficult a subject for you."

Elizabeth almost laughed, she wondered if he were joking or not. He was so handsome; he had the perfect physique and an amazing smile, how could he honestly believe his pictures would turn out bad. She held the camera up to her eye and began focusing in and took a few pictures but was not happy with them. "Could you stand up instead and maybe move away from the bench."

Darcy got up and walked over toward the trees. He faced the way she instructed him and waited while Elizabeth held the camera up and tried several angles. "No that's not going to work either," she said softly.

Darcy laughed, "I told you, I don't photograph well. Perhaps we should use Richard; he's more photogenic."

Elizabeth shook her head, "No, it's not you at all. You look amazing," she said without thinking as she turned to look for a better spot to do the pictures. As she turned back toward him she realized what she had said and became embarrassed by her slip; her cheeks turned a bright red. "What I meant to say, it's not you that's the problem, it's the backdrop. Everything just looks so posed. I really wanted this to feel more natural."

Darcy said nothing about her compliment on his looks. He found himself feeling rather pleased with the fact that she considered him good looking. It wasn't that he lacked confidence in his appearance. He had received compliments before from women but having her say that she thought him handsome meant more to him.

Elizabeth looked around again. "I don't know. This just isn't what I was thinking of."

Darcy shrugged. "Well, there is one tree just down the path that might offer a more substantial backdrop. It has a very nice stream that runs behind it. I could show it to you if you like?"

"All right," she told him as she followed him down that path. She held up her camera and took some pictures of him as they walked along. "Don't mind me."

It wasn't long before Darcy and Elizabeth came to a small clearing. They were surrounded by trees, but the one in the middle was beautiful, it was huge and old and full of large branches. It looked like it had been there for hundreds of years. The sunlight filtered through the trees and hit near the stream making it look like the most serene place on earth. "This is a very lovely place."

"I have always thought so," he agreed. "Do you think it will do for the photos?"

Elizabeth smiled, her eyes lit up, and she nodded her head, "I want to take some here, but I'm not so sure this kind of backdrop is what your cousin was thinking of."

Darcy loved the way her eyes looked at that moment; he couldn't help but stare at her. She walked over toward him and positioned him leaning back against the tree, facing toward her but just ever so slightly to one side. She stepped back and held her camera up in front of her. "Almost perfect," she told him as she sat her camera down on her bag and walked over toward him. She gently placed her hands on his arm and turned him more toward her. Then she gently lifted his chin and moved his head toward the stream. She looked into his eyes for a moment and found herself feeling drawn to him. "You have amazing eyes..." she said softly. Without thinking, Elizabeth reached up and gently brushed a few stray curls away from Darcy's forehead.

"Thank you," he said, his voice barely about a whisper.

Elizabeth took in a small breath; her heart began beating faster as she swallowed. "All right then," she mumbled.

Darcy enjoyed having her stand so close to him; he also didn't mind her soft touch as she brushed the hair away from his face. He looked into her eyes. "Is this better?" he asked her softly.

Elizabeth nodded her head as she forced herself to back up away from him. She blushed again at how she allowed herself to get carried away. "Yes, this will work," she told him as she walked back over and picked up her camera. She began taking his pictures; she found herself admiring him. He really was very handsome, and he was behaving so very different than he had been before. She had to admit, this version of Mr. Darcy was someone she could spend time with.